Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The Cost of Bankruptcy

If you are contemplating bankruptcy, you are probably already broke. If you are already broke, you are probably wondering how in the world you are going to pay for bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy Attorney fees vary so the cost of bankruptcy will vary. You are going to need to shop around to determine what reasonable fees in your area are. I paid 1000.00 for the attorney that handled my chapter 7 bankruptcy case but you may not find one that low in your area.

It was also made clear that there would be additional fees if my lawyer was required to fight any creditors that made a stink. That didn't happen. Fortunately, in a simple chapter 7 case, it rarely does.

Other costs in my chapter 7 bankruptcy includde a 299.00 court filing fee(the fee in a chapter 13 is 274.00) and the cost of two online credit counseling sessions. Those were about 70.00. Then there was one last fee of 12.00 to cover parking at the 341 meeting of the creditors. My total cost: 1381.00.

I was very broke at the time I needed to file and, like maybe you are now, I was extremely worried about how I was going to afford it. The good news is that bankruptcy attorneys understand this predicament and many (most I think) will arrange a payment plan with you but they won't actually do the filing until you are all paid up.

More good news is that many attorneys offer free bankruptcy consultations and they will probably tell you to stop paying all of your secured debts (like credit cards) immediately. (I am not advising you to stop paying any creditors--I am not an attorney).

I had already stopped paying most of my creditors due to inability and the decision to file and that freed up the cash to pay my lawyer, though it did take me several months.

No matter the cost, bankruptcy can give you the fresh start that you need. It's a heavy decision to make but the cost of bankruptcy should not be a factor when making it.